Gritty’s Special Oatmeal Stout pours black, if held to the light just a slight reddish glow shows through, pour raised a very short head that didn’t stick around long.

Smells like dark roasted grains, just a wisp of smoke and notes of coffee. Picking up a light earthy hop aroma and something else, I feel like I’m smelling the yeast but I’m not entirely sure, it’s very subtle.

This is a nice flavorful stout, very roasty, grainy, not finding the smoky flavor that I picked up in the nose but there is a dark coffee flavor. The hops bitterness really compliment the flavor profile in this beer and the oatmeal fills out the body but doesn’t make it too heavy on the palate. S.O.S finishes dry with a slight lingering bitterness and a roasted grains aftertaste.

Overall a really well done Oatmeal Stout, I’m really happy I saw this on the shelf the other day, spring hasn’t quite sprung yet and it’s still cold enough that I welcome a nice stout. Congrats to Gritty’s, this Special Oatmeal Stout is brewed in celebration of their 25th anniversary, opened in Portland’s Old Port in 1988, Gritty McDuff’s is Maine’s original brewpub. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of stouts. I look forward to checking out Gritty’s next 25th anniversary release, “Big Blonde” ale.